The Process of Educational and Occupational Attainment of Adolescent Females from Low-Income, Rural Families

The AA. examine the educational and occupational attainment of young women from low-income, Appalachian families who resided in rural areas. Data from a 10-year longitudinal study from 3 southeastern states were examined. Path analysis was used to test relative contribution of family-of-origine, family life-cycle, and social psychological variables as predictors of young women's status attainment. The variables unique to women's attainment (i.e. significant other influence on marriage and fertility plans, actual marriage and fertility plans, age at mariage, number of children, and household size) were not predictive. Several finding were interpreted as resulting from traditional gender-role expectations, family socialization processes, and the structural limitations faced by low-income women from rural areas.